Editor,

While I was driving south out of Freeland recently, I noticed someone had put up a string of signs on the side of the highway right where the speed changes from 45 to 55 mph. What I read on them astounded me.

The signs, and whoever put them up, are encouraging people to drive 10 mph under the speed limit. While I understand that people want drivers to slow down a bit, this is just ridiculous. Telling drivers to go 45 in a 55 zone is just as dangerous as telling drivers to go 65 in a 55 zone. Instead of driving with the flow of traffic, you have now become the cause of a bottleneck.

There is a sign that I see frequently on the island, the one that reads “Delay of 5 vehicles illegal.” What that means is, the minute your slow driving backs up more than four cars, you need to take some time to pull off on to the shoulder or into a parking lot to allow the line of cars to pass.

The other thing we have a fair number of are slow vehicle lanes. They have signs posted that read, “Slower traffic keep right.” And guess what? You’re now “slower traffic,” so you need to put your blinker on and pull into that lane and allow traffic to pass. Just because driving slow may make you feel like a saint, it doesn’t make you above the law.

While I don’t advocate speeding, driving slow isn’t going to solve any problems. In fact, it may cause more problems than it solves. Road rage will become an even bigger problem than it is now, which can cause collisions with other cars or property. Being a safe driver does not mean driving slow. Being a safe driver means paying attention to your surroundings no matter what speed you’re driving, so that you can react in the best possible way in the event of an emergency.

Not everyone has the luxury of time on their hands. Most people have tight schedules that don’t allow time for slowdowns and delays while driving.

JAMESON GAVAC

Freeland